Background: 

There is no need to have a crisis management plan until you need one; and if you do not have one when you need it you and your company will be unprepared to address a crisis and as a result will have a serious problem. There are many examples of an unprepared and untrained high-level company official responding poorly in a media interview simply because they have not been trained as part of the crisis management plan protocol. For example:  having an untrained person interviewed by the media could result in miss statements and incorrect information presented to the media and as a result to the community directly or indirectly affected by the crisis. 

Why should you attend?

This webinar addresses risks that lead to a crisis, how to prevent a crisis, behaviors that may lead to a crisis and behaviors during and after crisis. It focuses on how to provide resources, and how to manage the media during a crisis. It discusses the situation room, developing messages, the nines stages of crisis, crisis scenario development, crisis exercises and the crisis management system among others.  

Some have said that a company should not put money into preparing, updating and testing a crisis management plan. They believe it is better spent on entertaining clients or increasing inventories. To these people I ask what is the cost to have a facility closed for 1 hour, 1 day, 1 year or permanently as a result of a crisis. 

The publisher of his book, that attendees will receive after attending this webinar, and that the webinar follows describes the text as, “A comprehensive and very informative work on how to manage a crisis, The Fundamentals of Crisis Management is a handy book that every office library must have.  It identifies the stages of crisis and thoroughly describes the process of developing a crisis scenario and a scripted crisis exercise to equip organizations with the skills and tools necessary for effective crisis management and remediation. With concrete examples to illustrate key points, Dr. V. J. Marchesani provides virtually all the basic information there is to know about crisis management in this compact book, which also provides a template crisis management plan and standby statement that any business facing a crisis can easily utilize. A must read attend for every member have a company or organization whatever it’s size, from the worker who puts the lug nuts to the big shot who makes the most important decisions. The Fundamentals of Crisis Management may prove to be the perfect guide to crisis management in this constantly changing world.”

Description of topic:

The webinar will provide incites into matters related crisis management such as: Identifying and preventing a crisis before it occurs, preparing for a crisis, responding to a crisis and managing a crisis.

Also the webinar will provide answers to the following questions: 

• Are all unplanned events created equal, and if not what is the criteria that distinguishes an upset from an emergency and a crisis?
• Does the event represent as crisis, and if no how is the event level of impact determined?
• Who decides if there is a crisis, or an emergency and why?
• What questions should be asked of the site experiencing the crisis?
• How can the list of crisis management resources be kept up to date? 
• Is a crisis team approach better than an individual(s) addressing the crisis and if so why?
• If a team approach is decided, who should be on the team and why; and how many should be on the team and why. 
• If a team approach, who should lead the team and why?
• Should the team members have roles and responsibilities during a crisis?
• What happens when one of the team members such as the designated leader cannot be part of the team?
• How quickly should the team be gathered, and what happens if a team member is in Asia or Europe when a crisis is declared?
• Where should the team meet?
• Should there be multiple locations for the team to gather?
• How does the company crisis management plan interface with a facility emergency response plan? 
• Should there be a crisis manager, and if yes, what is their role? 
• When is the work of the crisis management team done?
• Is there need for “outside expertise” in a crisis, if yes, when and who?
• Where should a crisis be managed, e.g. at headquarters by the crisis management team, at the site of the crisis or by a third party and why? Is there a need for a plan facilitator, and if so who should it be and what do they do?
• What happens (in a mult-national company) if the point of crisis is in the states, and the division involved in its management is in Europe or the Far East at the time of a crisis?
• How does the speed of a crisis impact the decision-making?
• If the media is involved (more than likely this will be the case in a crisis) how should they be treated/managed and by whom?
• Keeping in mind the media will write a story on the event, what information (if any) e.g. messages should they be provided; when and by whom?
• With the crisis management team in place, what next? Should there be a template that is to be followed? Where should the plan be physically located? Should the plan be a controlled document, and what is a controlled document; and if so who should have copies of the plan, who should own the plan and what does it mean to own the plan?
• Most crisis management plans have phases or steps, e.g. communication, remediation and recovery among others, who should be in charge of such phases?
• Does media training have value?
• What messages should be created, provide to the media, who should create/approve these message and who should provide the messages and why?
• What will influence the messages?
• What happens when a crisis reaches stability, and what is stability?
• Who evaluates the impact of a crisis and when?
• When should remediation and recovery begin?
• Are crisis sub-teams a good approach and what, if anything, should they be doing.
• Should a “Management System” be employed in the management of a crisis, and what is a management system?
• What is the value of crisis exercises and when should they be done?

The financial incentives are clear. A crisis will impact a company’s ability to operate. Failure to have a written and tested crisis management plan can be devastating to the financial well being of a company to say nothing of the impact on the company image.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Format and protocol for contacting the location having a crisis.
• Membership of a crisis team and their roles
• The crisis manager and their job
• The crisis spokesperson
• The speed of a crisis
• Addressing/managing the media
• The developing and presenting of crisis messages
• Crisis stability, remediation and recovery
• The nine stage of a crisis
• The crisis management system
• The crisis exercise and
• Much more

Who will benefit:

All who attends will benefit from this webinar. This includes VPs, directors, managers and technical staff of the company EHS program. All who have the potential to be involved in a company or organization crisis situation should attend this webinar.  This includes almost everyone in industry, government and Para government agencies. All levels of management should attend since they will most likely be involved in addressing the crisis.

As a participant in this webinar will receive a copy of Dr. Marchesani’s book titled, “The Fundamentals of Crisis Management.”